Garda 'facilitated extortion call'

A garda “facilitated” an extortion phone-call which was later used as the basis to arrest a Co Donegal murder suspect, the Morris Tribunal heard today.

The call was made in November 1996 from the home of Raphoe-based Garda John O’Dowd to local bread man Michael Peoples – a suspect in the death of cattle dealer Richie Barron a month earlier.

The anonymous caller, which Gda O’Dowd claims was his informer William Doherty, demanded money from Mr Peoples to keep quiet about information linking him to Barron’s death.

Detective Superintendent John McGinley, who was involved in the investigation in 1996, today described this information was “pretty startling” when it came to light from a private detective hired by another suspect, Frank McBrearty Jr.

He said: “This was going further than a breach of discipline. It was a breach of the criminal code.”

He added: “William Doherty was a very devious man and he was capable of thinking a lot of devious things.”

Doherty has always denied he made the phone-call from Garda O’Dowd’s house.

Tribunal counsel Peter Charleton SC asked Det Supt McGinley how a phone-call “facilitated by a member of the Garda Síochána” could be used as a basis to arrest Mr Peoples in early December 1996.

He also queried why gardaí didn’t move as swiftly to arrest Gda O’Dowd as they did with Mr Peoples.

Det Supt McGinley admitted that Gda O’Dowd wasn’t questioned about the calls at the time as he wanted to get the allegations confirmed from official phone records.

The Morris Tribunal is into day 245 of probing Garda corruption in Co Donegal in the 1990s.

It is currently focusing on how gardaí investigated the death of Mr Barron on a roadside in Raphoe in October 1996.

Members of the extended McBrearty family have claimed that they were harassed by gardaí during the investigation and unfairly singled out as murder suspects.

Michael Peoples is related through marriage to Mark McConnell, a first cousin of Frank McBrearty Jr.

Pressing his point, Mr Charleton later queried again why Mr Peoples was targeted as a suspect by gardaí.

He asked: “Why? He hadn’t answered the phone and shouted: ‘I killed Richie Barron.’ On what possible basis could he be a suspect?”

Det Supt McGinley, who was a detective inspector in Letterkenny Garda Station at the time, is into his 50th day of direct evidence at the tribunal.

In response to questioning, Det Supt McGinley said it was “outrageous” for Mr Charleton to suggest that the phone calls were “sanctioned” by the investigation.

He said: “It’s outrageous. It’s an outrageous suggestion. It’s completely untrue.”

Earlier, the tribunal heard that Det Supt McGinley had been asked by his superiors to act as “handler” for informer William Doherty immediately after he (Doherty) had given bogus tip-offs about a primed bomb buried on a local farm.

Doherty gave three different locations for the explosive but nothing was found, despite local detectives, the Emergency Response Unit and helicopters joining the search.

Det Supt McGinley said today: “The information was wrong from the start. Looking back on it now, all I can say is that I’m glad I didn’t get involved (with Doherty).”

Evidence at the tribunal continues in Dublin on Monday.